Jack Layton, leader of Canada's New Democratic Party, discussed ways for progressive leaders in the United States and Canada to work together to address the major issues facing middle class families across North America.

The speakers include: Ambassador Arun Kumar Singh, deputy chief of mission at the Embassy of India in Washington; Secretary Figueiredo de Souza, assistant of the IBSA Division of the Brazilian Ministry of External Relations; Francis Kornegay, of the Institute for Global Dialogue (South Africa); Ummu Salma Bava of Jawaharlal Nehru University (India); Dr. Alcides Costa Vaz, from the Institute of International Relations of the University of Brasilia; and , Dr. Sunil Khilnani, of the Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies.

Illegal wildlife trafficking is the third largest criminal industry worldwide, involving $20 billion in global trade each year. Experts discuss the nature of the industry and the challenges governments and NGOs face in fighting it.

China's three decades as the world's fastest growing economy have brought it an unfortunate primacy in two other categories: world's highest annual incidence of premature deaths triggered by air pollution and greatest emitter of carbon dioxide.

With increasing frequency, wealthy, food-importing, and water-scarce countries are investing in farmland overseas to meet food security needs. The Wilson Center hosts a half-day conference examining the patterns and implications of these investments, and highlighting case studies.